Modern Slavery refers to "situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence coercion, deception and/or abuse of power" (ILO - international labour organization).

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Many people will be under the impression that modern slavery can't exist in a country like the United Kingdom, but in actual fact it does. It exists in every sinlge part of the UK. The number of people identified as victims of modern slavery is rising every single year and the real number of victims is thought to be much higher than those recorded. Many of these victims, in fact almost half of these victims are children who are being coerced and exploited by criminal gangs, this includes weapons, drugs and sexual activities.

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According to antislavery.org;

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"While it is impossible to know the full extent of modern slavery in the UK, the Home Office releases data to demonstrate the numbers of people referred to authorities. At the end of 2021 there were:

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• 12,727 potential victims of modern slavery - the highest number of referrals since the records began in 2009

• 43% of all of these victims were children - meaning there were 5,486 potential child victims

• 31% of people referred were British nationals

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In 2021, criminal exploitation was the most common form of slavery in the UK, followed by forced labour. Criminal exploiation is often driven by the cultivation and sale of drugs in the UK, especially by exploiting children".